Patricia Sexton Case: Murder, Trial, and Appeal

The Patricia Sexton case is a Texas murder conviction stemming from the February 1998 killing of Bobby Sexton, whose wife Patricia was found by a Cherokee County jury to have orchestrated his death. She was convicted of murder under the law of parties in April 1999 and sentenced to life in prison. The gunman, mechanic Michael Fielding, was her lover; a second man, Willie Wright, helped dump the body in the Neches River.¹

Who Patricia Sexton Is and Why She Wanted Bobby Dead

Patricia Sexton lived on her family’s compound in Jacksonville, Texas, where her grandfather ran a mechanic shop. Bobby Sexton, older than Patricia, worked at that shop after leaving his father’s roofing business. A work injury had left him with a metal rod in his back, a detail that would later help identify his remains.²

The marriage fell apart in late 1997. Bobby filed for divorce, and the court awarded him custody of the couple’s children.³ Around the same time, Patricia began an affair with Michael Fielding, a 29-year-old mechanic at the family shop.¹

In January 1998, Patricia tried to reconcile with Bobby but later told Fielding it was only a ploy to regain access to the children. She then asked Fielding for cocaine to plant on Bobby so he would be arrested. Fielding refused. On February 11, 1998, she told him she wanted Bobby dead, saying she could not simply leave because Bobby would keep the children, and adding that she was tired of him “beating on her and raping her.”¹ Patricia’s mother, Linda Gail Bingham, later testified that Patricia had said “the only way she would ever be rid of him was for him to be dead.”³

Prosecutors described Patricia and her grandmother, Dorothy Bingham, as the ringleaders. Willie Wright, a co-worker at the mechanic shop, initially offered to do the killing himself for $2,500.²

How the Murder Was Carried Out

On the night of February 20, 1998, at about 10:30 p.m., Michael Fielding shot Bobby Sexton in the chest with a shotgun. Fielding and Wright loaded the body into Bobby’s Chevy Suburban and drove to Anderson County, where they dumped it in the Neches River.¹

The next day, Patricia reported Bobby missing to the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, saying Wright had called him to the shop around 11:00 p.m. and he never came home.² That same day, Al Clark Jr., the common-law partner of Patricia’s mother, found Bobby’s abandoned Suburban on a high-line right-of-way in Dialville, Texas, and drove it back to the family property. Blood had pooled inches deep in the wheel wells.¹

How Investigators Broke the Case

The case broke on March 17, 1998, when Willie Wright was arrested for public intoxication. Under questioning, he confessed to his role and to Fielding’s, describing the killing as premeditated, and led Cherokee County chief investigator Mike Daniel to the spot in the Neches River where the body had been dumped. Bobby’s remains were recovered on March 25. Pathologist Dr. Charles Odom identified the cause of death as a gunshot wound to the left chest, and the metal rod in Bobby’s back confirmed his identity.¹²

Patricia’s mother, Linda Gail Bingham, was also key. After being arrested on narcotics charges, she offered to tell prosecutors what she knew about Patricia and Dorothy Bingham in exchange for reduced drug charges. She became the state’s star witness against her own daughter and mother. Patricia Sexton and Dorothy Bingham were arrested in August 1998.²

The Capital Murder Trial and Life Sentence

Patricia was indicted for capital murder in Cherokee County. The aggravating factor was remuneration: proceeds Patricia expected upon Bobby’s death, including a disability claim with a large payout. Cherokee County District Attorney Elmer Beckworth prosecuted, arguing that custody, finances, and the affair together drove the conspiracy.¹²

Willie Wright died before trial. Michael Fielding testified against Patricia, identifying her and Dorothy Bingham as the planners, and later took a plea deal for 35 years.⁴

The jury acquitted Patricia of capital murder, taking the death penalty off the table, but convicted her of the lesser included offense of murder under the law of parties. On April 28, 1999, jurors assessed her punishment at life imprisonment.¹

The Appeal

Patricia appealed to the Court of Appeals of Texas in Tyler, raising ten issues. Among them were challenges to whether accomplice testimony had been sufficiently corroborated, the trial court’s refusal to hold an evidentiary hearing on her motion for new trial, the absence of jury instructions treating Al Clark and Willie Wright as potential accomplices, and the admission of graphic photographs of the victim. On November 15, 2000, the appellate court overruled every issue and affirmed the conviction. She has maintained her innocence.¹²

What Happened to the Others

Michael Fielding is serving 35 years under his plea agreement. Willie Wright, whose confession cracked the case, died before trial could begin.²

Dorothy Bingham, Patricia’s grandmother, was convicted in May 2000 of murder and engaging in organized criminal activity and sentenced to 30 years on each count. Her attorney, David Schulman, argued that the conviction rested on “innuendoes and speculation.” In August 2002 a Tyler appeals court acquitted her, finding insufficient corroborating evidence, and the State Court of Criminal Appeals denied the prosecution’s rehearing request in February 2003. Bingham was released from the Mountain View prison unit in Gatesville after less than three years.⁵

1
FindLaw. Sexton v. State, No. 12-99-00173-CR
2
Oxygen. Patricia Sexton Texas Family Murder Snapped Recap
3
vLex. Sexton v. State
4
Myplainview. Grandmother to Be Freed After More Than Two Years
5
Midland Reporter-Telegram. Grandmother to Be Freed After More Than Two Years